The Great Adventures of Lynn and Mikel

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

12 Months Checkup

Yesterday was D's 12 months checkup with Dr. Foster. He was really fussy and not at all happy to be there because he was sleepy! We had a good streak of 3 weeks sleeping through the night and then Christmas and the birthday ruined that! He has some teeth trying to break through too, so that probably doesn't help, but I sure wish they would hurry it up because I got used to that sleep and I want it back!

His stats:

Head: 19 inches

Length: 30.5 "

Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz

The doc was a little concerned that his weight has gone DOWN four ounces from his 9 months checkup. This dropped him to the 25th percentile for his age and height. We dicussed it and we think it's a combo of the two double ear infections, his increased mobility and my decreased weight while continuing to breastfeed. I've been trying the sippy cup with him with no real success. I am going to keep trying more often now and started eating more fatty foods to increase my milk fat content and supply until he weans. I've also gotten on some herbal supplements that are supposed to help with that too. Guess it wouldn't hurt to gain a few pounds! That'll be a fun diet! I've lost about 6 pounds past my pre-pregnancy weight - a total of 56 pounds from my peak during pregnancy.

Here is a fun picture of all the breast milk we've stored over the past 6 months. I joke with Mikel that I could probably feed a third world country with it! Apparently there is a store in Amsterdam or somewhere in the Netherlands that serves ice cream made from breast milk. There is yogurt, cheese, all sorts of dairy products made from breast milk. PETA has approached Ben and Jerry's about making a line of ice cream made from breast milk. I am a big breastfeeding advocate, but I think this is going too far! We don't have the regulations in place to ensure that the milk is safe for public consumption. Breast milk is tailor made for your baby - not for Joe or Jane Smith! Besides, there is a psychological bodily fluid ick factor to it anyway. Plus can you imagine the human rights violation possibilities? I can just vision a warehouse of under paid, over worked females hooked up to a pump! Now I love animals and my dirty dog Charlie, but I value humans more!!

Ok, off my soap box now!

Dunning loves Charlie too....

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little man!! I know this is belated, but I got very frustrated with Blogger and it's inability to post pictures in anything but random, hugely spaced fashion, making editing and captioning insanely time consuming. Perhaps it is me, but I think not. Anyway, we had a great little family bday for D and I think that will be it. I was hoping to do one with extended family and friends, but that's just a little much right now. Next year! We had a lot of fun with our jungle themed party, monkey cake and pizza. In tribute to my little precious, here are 12 tidbits D and about being his mommy:

1) D thinks the Itsy Bitsy Spider is hilarious. I think it's the 2nd verse that has a mouse jumping out from a hole that he thinks is funny because I hide and pop out like the mouse. Hilarity ensues.

2) Dunning has big fat baby cheeks. Enough said.

3) He still lets me kiss those big fat baby cheeks.

4) He thinks the aisle markers in Wal-Mart are fascinating. Pretty much anything hanging from the ceiling is fascinating.

5) He likes the Wiggles. Well, I force him to watch the Wiggles so I can take a shower, but I'm sure someday, he'll love them.

6) He does however, love his Wiggle guitar that Nana got for him!

7) He loves his daddy very much and daddy can always get him laughing!

8) Dunning is a big time nurser. To the point that he refuses sippies because he knows they ain't the real deal. This is getting frustrating, but I am so grateful he breastfed for so long because of how good it is for him and it has been wonderful bonding time for us (except for when he sticks his finger up my nose, or pokes my eye, or pulls my hair...)

9) He is particular about where your hands are on the grocery cart. He once got mad at Mikel and started screaming in the store because he didn't like where his hands were on the cart. Mikel asked me what was wrong with him and I simply said, "move your hands." He complied and D instantly silenced. Mommy KNOWS.

10) D is going to be very independent I think. He is an explorer and doesn't play a whole lot with toys but loves to crawl from room to room, touch buttons, change channels, play with Blackberries and phones, touch this, touch that, explore explore explore.

11) D loves to ride on shoulders!

12) D loves to babble and make funny noises with his mouth. Raspberries, tongue rolling, fish faces, this kid does it all!

Love you kiddo! Here is a montage of how he has changed over the year. He has always had fat baby cheeks, hair and a beaming smile.

December 26, 2008

1 Year

November 2008

11 months

October 2008

10 months

September 2008

9 months

August 2008

8 months

July 2008

7 months

June 2008

6 months

May 2008

5 months

April 2008

4 months

March 2008

3 months

February 2008

2 months

January 2008

1 month

December 2007

Brand New!

Me, Christmas Day, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby, and opening some gifts

The month before, wearing the only thing that fit me, sweats and that maternity t-shirt (see above, it makes an appearance at Christmas too!)

Christmas!

Sorry it has taken me a while to get pictures and and update on the blog. We've been really busy and I haven't taken the time to post.
Of course, this week was Christmas, and we had a great time with family. On December 13th, we had Christmas with my side of the family - my parents, my sister and her husband and kids, my aunt and uncle and my Meemaw and her Allen. On the 25th, Mikel's mom and dad, brother and his wife and their twins came over for Christmas. Here are a few pictures from the festivities. For some reason, the only picture I got at my family's gathering was Dunning and his fascination with the door.